The 55-year-old actress returns as the character for the fourth and final time in the upcoming movie Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy but admits she will always be attached to the role that she has played for over two decades.
Asked what she'll miss about the franchise, Zellweger told The Hollywood Reporter: "I'll miss spending time with everyone that's involved, friendships new and old.
"I don't think I'll ever let go of Bridget. I have conversations about Bridget Jones pretty much every day. I meet people on the sidewalk and they want to share about their own Bridget Jones experiences. All my friends call me Bridget!"
The new film sees Bridget as a widow following the death of her husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Renee admits that the plot development changed the way she played the character – who was created by novelist Helen Fielding during the 1990s.
The Judy actress said: "I mean, in every (movie), there's a revisitation of who she's become based on what happened to her in the interim. And that's no different here.
"I think it was necessary that we were going to look at themes that were of greater consequence in the life of a person in this stage of her life – in order for it to be an authentic representation."
Zellweger continued: "This is Helen at her most personal and she's opening herself up to share her experiences of loss and grief and that of her children as well. What does that look like? How does that change a person?
"You're never the same after you experience loss. How does that manifest? Your perspective changes, your values change... How you communicate and what you want in your life inevitably changes as well. And now we're talking about a mother so her choices don't just affect her anymore.
"So is she a little more measured? Probably. Does she have time to worry so much about herself? Not as much. But familiarly, she is concerned about if she's measuring up. And we all relate to that."
Zellweger admits that she was very upset about her co-star Firth taking his leave from the franchise.
She said: "Now, that was a real surprise. I knew that it would be emotional, but I didn't realise just how sad I was gonna feel on the day, looking at my friend on the sidewalk there in his Mark Darcy coat with his Mark Darcy buttoned-up suit and his briefcase, strolling in the London night.
"It was just so sad thinking this character I love, and Mark and Bridget, was no more. But just as my friend, I've shared this experience with (Firth) for 25 years, and that was coming to an end. That really snuck up on me in a really heavy way."
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